So instead of becoming obsessed with what other people were doing, I decided to take a step back and start from square one. When you’re not happy with your blog, you have to go back to the start and remember three things: why you started this in the first place, who you really want to help and what you want to achieve.

There were days when I thought I wanted to write about one thing and days when I wanted to write about something else. It became SO hard to know what to do, but I kept reminding myself that I had to go through this tough stage to get even better. Remember how they say if you take a break you’ll come back stronger? It’s true for this situation too.

#2 | YOUR READERS = YOUR CONTENT

While I do love coming up with content ideas from the top of my head or based on something I’m doing, I know the content that is going to perform the best is what my readers are going to love.

I was very intentional when it came to my content strategy and making sure that this related back to my purpose. I completely honed in on my categories and who I was targeting and made sure I was writing about the right things by talking to my audience on social media, running surveys and keeping an eye on what content they were loving the most.

YES, I WANT TO LEARN SOME STRATEGIES THAT WILL HELP TO GROW MY COMMUNITY TOO!

I have a whole workbook dedicated to community building strategies and how to implement them in my new free guide if you want to learn more below. Your audience will love you!

#3 | BE STRATEGIC WITH HOW YOU GO ABOUT IT

But what if you’re just a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of person?

Planning and outlining your brand’s purpose is a great way to ensure that you’re going to be creating high-quality content, you’re conveying what your brand is all about clearly and generating more interest in your online presence as a whole. What’s bad about that?

Offering transparency and communicating what makes a brand what it is, is something I love to do for my clients and for my own business. Although you may feel that you’re not a brand because you’re only one person, I can assure you that this is one mindset you need to get to grips with.

Friend, you are a brand.

For me, branding is more than just design, colours and style. It’s about the impression that you give and the values that you hold in your everyday life, that are there to represent you. That is your personal brand.

Here are a few ways that you can start honing in on your personal brand to help you define your blog’s purpose:

Start thinking of yourself as a brand and that a brand is not developed through design, it’s developed through trust

Build and audit your online presence - communicate what your values are and who you want to help through your bio

Produce valuable and purposeful content that is intentional and strategic

Keep on learning. You don’t have to be an expert in your industry. Part of your job is to stay as up to date as you can.

#4 | ASK FOR HELP (I MEAN IT)

You get to a point where you just can’t do it on your own anymore. When I first started out, I did everything myself and networking with people was the hardest thing in the world for me, online as well as offline.

While I’m thankful how far teaching myself has taken me, when I decided to change from a lifestyle blog to an online marketing blog, I knew it was time to start building relationships if I was to pull this off successfully and be in it for the long haul.

I’ve done three main things in those past two years. I started a mailing list which has now turned into the Blogging Breakthrough community. I started having conversations with people online which has led to me hosting my own Mastermind Group. And the latest thing I’ve done is launch my Facebook Group which I know is going to be so beneficial (what do you mean you haven’t joined it yet? 😉)

What resulted (and I’m not afraid of saying this) is a strong, confident brand that not only reflects myself and my own values, but also connects with my ideal audience and clients WAY more than I ever could have hoped for.

#5 | BE SMART ABOUT HOW YOU ORGANISE YOURSELF

Like many other passionate bloggers out there, I’m the only person working on my brand. I wear all the hats. So it was important that while I was working on a strategic plan to redefine my brand’s purpose, I didn’t let any of my other blogging tasks slip the net.

There have been a few moments over the past two years where I thought “Okay Holly, there are so many things you want to do, it’s just never going to be possible”. But with the help and support of family and friends, I stayed pretty good at keeping myself organised.

#6 | GET SOME FEEDBACK

Feedback, whether it’s good or bad, is going to be so valuable to you whatever stage you’re at in your blogging journey.

It scares me to think about launching something now without truly knowing if it’s going to connect with my community and if they’re going to want it. If you don’t ask your audience for their thoughts, you’re never going to know for sure if anything is going to appeal to your target audience...it’ll just be guesswork.

When you’re looking for feedback, definitely go and ask the people in your community who fall under your ideal client or audience member. Not your sister or a friend in a different industry (although I’d encourage them to get some feedback about an area of their life or work too!)

There are so many ways to ask for feedback. Some of my favourite ones include:

Sending a survey to your subscribers

Asking for feedback in your Mastermind Group/Whatsapp community

Email your clients directly

Run a Twitter poll

Host a poll in your Facebook group

You don’t ask you don’t get, right?

What are some of the biggest lessons you’ve learnt from redefining your brand’s purpose or rebranding? Is there anything holding you back from this, even though you know it’s what you want to do? Let me know in the comments below!